Countries that ban the use of crypto?

[Alexander Klimov]

On Wed, 7 Dec 2005, JЖrn Schmidt wrote:
>
> However, there are only two countries, to the best of my knowledge,
> that outright ban cryptography: Russia and China. And even that's only
> a de-facto ban since both only require individuals to obtain a license
> to use cryptography in any way, shape or form. From what I have heard,
> it's nearly impossible for your average Joe to actually be issued such
> a license.

This would make every computer user a criminal: default installations
of most *NIXes have openssh, Windows uses cryptography at least for
driver signatures, and in most cases there is an ssl implementation in
his browser. IANAL, but apparently there is no need to have a license
to *use* cryptography in Russia, but one does need a license to *offer*
cryptographic services (<http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr> for
<http://law.rambler.ru/library/norubs/11386/>):

            On the licensing [... 2001-07-13 ... 2001-07-20 ...]

 activity in the propagation of cipher (cryptographic) means; activity
 in the maintenance of cipher (cryptographic) means; the assignment of
 services in the region of the coding of information; development, the
 production of the cipher (cryptographic) means, protected with the
 use of cipher (cryptographic) means of information systems,
 telecommunication systems; activity in the delivery of the
 certificates of the keys of electronic digital signatures,
 registration of the owners of electronic digital signatures, the
 rendering of the services, connected with the use of electronic
 digital signatures, and the confirmation of authenticity of
 electronic digital signatures; activity in the development of the
 electronic devices, intended for secret obtaining of information, in
 the accomodations and the technical equipment (with exception of the
 case, if the activity indicated it is achieved for guaranteeing its
 own needs of legal person or individual owner); activity in the
 development and (or) to the production of the means of protection of
 classified information; activity in the technical protection of
 classified information; development, production, realization and
 acquisition for purposes of sale of the special technical equipment,
 intended for secret obtaining of information, by individual owners
 and by legal persons, that achieve owner's activity;

Arguably, this is better when the situation that everybody can sell
crypto snake oil. BTW, AFAIK, even when the *use* of crypto was banned
in Russia (it was around 1995, IIRC) there was no penalty defined.

-- 
Regards,
ASK

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